10 Foreign Youths Accused of Phone Fraud in Mexico

PUEBLA, Mexico — The district attorney's office charged 10 foreign students at the University of Puebla with defrauding the national telephone company of more than $75,000, the official news agency reported last week.

Six Panamanians, three Colombians and a Venezuelan were held on charges of making illegal phone calls to the United States and South American and European countries, Notimex reported.

The 10 students confessed that they had found a public phone booth near the campus where they could make long-distance calls by repeatedly depositing the same coin.

Raul Ramirez Aguirre, spokesman for the D.A.'s office, said the students face a possible 12-year jail term.